Division of Powers
The Division of Powers was an Imperial act in 1149, stripping the powers of the Emperor and setting up several organizations, in a vain attempt to spread the Emperor's ultimate power throughout society by 'nationalising' said powers - giving them to aristocratic families in the Imperium. This decentralization was forced on the Imperial government after widespread insurrection and civil revolt largely ground the state to a halt. Imperial Ministries The Division of Powers broke down the various powers of the Emperor, and gave them away to several aristocratic families, creating new "Ministries", collectively referred to as "the Institution". This decentralization was perceived by the general population as reducing the phenomenal powers of the Emperor, but in truth through some deft political maneuvring and the creation of new Imperial organizations under his direct control, the Emperor preserved most, if not all, of his power. The Imperial Army Jurisdiction over the affairs of the Imperial military on land was given to the House of Praed. Since then, the military has been extremely traditional, taking few steps forward scientifically. The Army is organized in the same manner as the armies of ancient Urtasht - divided into 'legions', but now of ten thousand men, which are then divided into 'Taugion', of a thousand, and then centuries of a hundred men. There is distinct hierarchy of legions, with Praetorians being the highest class of legion, and then several in descending order to the slave legions formed haphazardly using groups of conflicts and captives. Although the House of Praed "owns" the Army, and is therefore technically the ultimate commander, since the day that they obtained the right to lead the Imperial Army the successive heads of the Praed family have elected to hand the mantle of ultimate command and the title of Lord-General over to the head of the house of Fendaren. The Imperial Navy Powers over the Naval arm of the Imperium was given to the Scherat family from Urtasht. The navy is extremely progressive, making great leaps and bounds in science - especially compared to the fiercely traditional Army. Competition between the two is vicious, and open combat has been known to open up between members of each side in the more far-flung of the Imperium's colonies. The Ministry of Justice The Ministry of Justice, in theory, controls the application of law in the Imperium. The ministry largely failed, however, and now holds little more than control over the police force of the major Imperial centers, and the safety of the Ivory Palace itself. It has been speculated that the failure of the Ministry of Justice was due to the Emperor taking a personal hand in events, as very soon after the collapse of the Ministry, the Imperial Court was set up at his request. The Ministry of Commerce The Ministry of Commerce was intended to dominate all the economical affairs of the Imperium, but the far larger Merchant's Guild quickly grew, and bankrupted it. The Ministry of Commerce now have almost no power, and does little more than the jobs that Merchant's Guild doesn't want - levying tariffs, and policing the importation of foreign goods into the Imperium. The Church of Vortigern (main article:Vortigernism) Before the Division of Powers the Emperor also held control over the religious affairs of the Imperium, but after 1149 this power was handed over to the Arch-Cardinal of the newly created Church of Vortigern. The Emperor is still considered somewhat holy - he is indeed the direct descendant of Vortigern the Old Sire, but the Arch-Cardinal and his subsidiaries are the main intermediaries between the divine and the mundane world. Reactions to the Division of Powers The Division of Power had three major effects: firstly, the Emperor was forced to find new ways to take more-or-less direct control of events in his realm; secondly, the Institutions, most notably the Army and Navy almost instantly began competing with one another for the Emperor's attention, and finally, groups who didn't want to be involved with the Institutions for one reason or another, formed their own organizations. Imperial Court (main article: Emperor's Court) The Imperial Court was set up by the Emperor shortly after the Ministry of Justice collapsed. It is made up of roughly twenty Judge's, each with their own responsibilities and places in Imperial Court proceedings. Each member has armor made for his role, rather than himself, and each suit of armor covers the wearer from head to toe, rendering them unrecognizable. This serves to create a distance between the Judge and the Condemned, and also to make them appear emotionless. The armor is passed down from Judge to Judge as the previous incumbent is replaced, so it is impossible to tell - without access to the Codex of the Court - when the Judge dies, changes, or is replaced. To all intents and purposes, and perhaps most importantly, to the enemy, Judges are immortal. Scientific Advancements After the Division of Powers, the new Institutions began competing viciously to outdo one another in any manner possible, in order to gain favour with the Emperor and have their leader chosen as the next Chancellor. Both sides quickly realized that they couldn't hope to outdo one another at war, since wars were dictated by the Emperor - they had to take their own initiative, and so they took to developing science at the greatest speed possible, advancing at an incredible rate. Both sides followed totally different paths; the Army worked on what they knew, building on and developing their weapons technology as best they could, and inventing ever better forms of steel. This incredibly high-quality steel led to the invention of springs, and then to clockwork, which ultimately resulted in the construction of the transcontinental clockwork railways. The Navy, meanwhile, was more abstract in its advancements, and after several hundred years their studies culminated in the invention of gunpowder. Since then, their gunnery technology has been refined, and now every navy vessel on the sea is fully armed with high quality cannon. This set the stage for conflict within the Institution. The Navy wanted access to clockwork engines, which would elminate their reliance on the wind to move their ships, giving them a significant advantage over the sail-powered navies of other states, and they also wanted to use the Army's high quality steel in the construction of ever more powerful cannon. The Army, on the other hand, wanted to use the Navy's gunpowder in their land battles, because the edge that it would give them is difficult to misunderstand. Imperial Guilds After the Division of Powers, many people didn't wish to be absorbed into the new Institution. After gaining the approval of the Emperor, they formed their own "Guilds". Soldiers who didn't want to fight in the Imperial Army joined the Warrior's Guild; traders and entrepeneurs who didn't want to be regulated by the Ministry of Commerce formed the wildly successful Merchant's Guild, and with the Guild's protection, founded their own Trading Companies. Carters, bargers, and other transporters formed the Drover's Guild. The doctors and herbalists didn't have a place in the Institution, and the Apothecary's Guild was born. Although the Guilds didn't have even half of the power of the Institution in terms of seats on the Eisernerat, they had an enormous amount of manpower and resources, as well as huge political power in that every member of the Iron Council, not to mention the Emperor, was determined to keep the great force of the Guilds on their side. Category:The Imperium